The field of the invention is concrete block systems for retaining walls.
Concrete blocks retaining walls have long been used in landscape architecture for both functional (for example, reducing soil erosion on hilly lots) and decorative purposes. Traditionally the blocks were mortared together or were installed using tie-backs or geo-grid systems. More recently, retaining walls have been built using interlocking blocks. One example of this is a “natural rock” retaining wall manufactured by Redi-Rock International, Charlevoix, Mich., which uses six different shapes of blocks for different parts of the wall.
The closest known prior art is the Lock+Load system manufactured by C. J. Pink, Ltd., London, Ontario, Canada, which is a two-piece system with a bottom and a face wherein the blocks lock together with a re-rod that goes through two pieces at one end. In that system, the blocks are laid at a time from the back of the wall using a stone truck, because each block weighs fifty-five to one hundred pounds.